My Words Are Law

After

Amaryllis fidgeted in her seat. The discussion was long finished, and Mr. Dale and Taylor had also left. She has no idea where Taylor is going, but she really doesn't have the time to worry about that now. Not after their exchange of words. And certainly not when Rosa is staring her down.

"How did you even meet him?" she asked, sighing noisily in exasperation.

"He's attending the same uni, and we're in the same year and major..." Amaryllis answered truthfully.

Rosa's fingers tapped nervously on the table as her eyes became glazed. Amaryllis has no idea what she's thinking, but it's clear she's worried. The rapping sound stopped as Rosa focused her gaze on her niece.

"Can you really not tell me how you got entangled with such a sensitive family affair?"

Amaryllis avoided her gaze as she pulled on her fingers one by one.

"...I know you're a good child. You wouldn't do anything without any good reason, but this is not something we can just shirk off. Your schoolmate... He has a very complicated background...-" Rosa sighed.

"If something happens, I'll tell you, Aunt," Amaryllis carefully replied. Rosa raised her eyes to the blue-eyed delicate beauty.

"I promise." The younger girl added with an earnest look.

Although reluctant, Rosa resigned and nodded as she thought about Chryses Taylor.

The first time she saw the young man in Mr. Cadell's office, she admittedly thought he looked young. However, it never crossed her mind that he might still be attending university. The way he confidently spoke towards her boss and how he carried himself with a stature that commanded presence and authority tricked her into thinking he was at least a graduate. She soon discovered, while she was watching the news a few days ago, that her deduction was very wrong. Even more surprising. He's in the same school as Amaryllis, and now, he's even managed to get close to her niece.

Rosa doesn't know what to make out of the man who destroyed the Stewarts. The moment she laid eyes on Chryses Taylor, when they entered the apartment a while ago, a feeling of dread enveloped her whole being. His eyes that stared at Amaryllis were unsettling. She feels genuinely frightened for her niece as if she will be taken far out of her reach.

"You know I only want the best for you... right?" Rosa uttered as she held her niece's hand while playing out possible scenarios that may arise from Amaryllis' involvement with Chryses' family issue. Despite her moderated interrogation, Rosa already started forming contingency plans they can carry out in the off chance, something unexpected happens. She knows people like him too well. The greed in his eyes will destroy them both.

Amaryllis grasped Rosa's hand back with a smile. "I know."

The next day, Amaryllis was getting ready for enrollment while Rosa was busy preparing a simple breakfast for everyone. Meanwhile, the youngest was silently watching the TV while munching on oranges.

As soon as Rosa called them to eat, Ivor interrupted, saying, "Look. It's your schoolmate. He's in the news."

Amaryllis, who was passing by behind the sofa to get to the dining table, also paused to watch the news. It was a press conference. The headline, 'The disowned son of Taylor Conglomerate surfaced after a two-week disappearance.'

"A Twitter post from a successful startup overseas company, WALL, revealed who their CEO is for their sixth anniversary. Have you seen it?"

"Yes," Chryses answered briefly. The reporter had to follow up.

"You're not denying that you are the man behind WALL?"

He nodded. "WALL is my pride and joy."

There was a moment of silence before a new voice asked a question. "I've researched WALL and discovered that it's a software company specializing in Computer security. I've also found out that your products, specifically WALL 100, gained a lot of recognition as soon as it was released, and it currently has six million users despite being a young software in the industry. The users, however, are all mostly located abroad, and not much news of WALL 100 is known by locals. Why is that?"

"WALL 100 started as an experiment. I was curious about how long I could keep a business running, so I didn't plan on introducing it locally to avoid contact with Taylor Conglomerate. Currently, we have fifty-two employees, and we are considering expanding our services to data security and consultation for small to mid and startup companies. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to inform the public. We will soon post an official announcement for the positions we need to operate locally. If your passion coincides with ours, feel free to send in your applications."

"Mr. Taylor, does the decision to expand in the local market has anything to do with your severed relations with Mr. Eustas Taylor? And how would you address the fear of reluctant job seekers to apply to a barely established company like WALL?" Another voice asked.

"If you've done your research, you'd know that although quite young, WALL is an already established company. Contracts with our investors all ended last year, and we are running independently as we speak. If that is not an insurance that our company is reliable, the continuing success of WALL 100 is another insurance. Six million and counting product subscribers do not equate to a measly profit."

"Mr. Taylor, you haven't answered the first question."

"The first question is irrelevant as I am no longer affiliated with Mr. Eustas Taylor. All my present and future endeavors are solely based on my own independence. I hope follow-up questions will be more profound."

The TV screen turned black, and their faces reflected on the dark rectangular glass box.

"Let's have our breakfast, shall we? You don't want to be late, do you?" Rosa muttered as she dropped the remote on the sofa.

Amaryllis could not believe what she'd just seen. She was genuinely worried for him, yet he didn't try to correct her misunderstanding. He must have relished in the attention she poured on him. She prayed that it was all just a momentary obsession. Surely... Later on, after meeting more people in the future...

Surely, he's going to forget about her.

***